Ultimate Table Tennis: Dabang Delhi lose to Puneri Paltan

The third edition of Ultimate Table Tennis got underway in New Delhi on Thursday with debutants Puneri Paltan overcoming Dabang Delhi 8-7 in a close and exciting encounter. Going into the last match of the day with the overall scores tied at 6-6, Germany's Sabine Winter showed no signs of nerves as she overcame Romania's Bernadette Szocs 2-1 to clinch that crucial extra point. India's top-ranked player G Sathiyan produced a stellar performance, beating Harmeet Desai in the men's singles and then pairing up with Bernadette Szocs to win two matches and clinch five points.

But that was not enough as Paltan won both the women's singles and the second men's Singles. Ayhika Mukherjee began Paltan's campaign on a positive note, comfortably beating Krittwika Sinha Roy, picking up the three points on offer in the first women's singles.

She seemed to be in a bit of bother as she fell behind 4-6 and 9-10. Ayhika, however, saved the golden point and won one more to take the game.

She was on a roll in the second game, jumping to a 6-2 lead to win it rather easily. The third game was, however, tight, with Krittwika taking her all the way to another golden point tussle. Ayhika, fresh from her victory in the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championship, held her nerve to win all the points for her team.

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HIGHLIGHTS

• Dabang Delhi won the Ultimate Table Tennis tournament title last year.
• G Sathiyan is India's top-ranked table tennis player.
• Puneri Paltan is making their debut in the Ultimate Table Tennis tournament.